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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia

"Procrastination" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 2. In this episode, SpongeBob procrastinates on writing an essay for Boating School.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

Procrastination 008

"You hear that!? 800 words!"

The episode starts at Mrs. Puff's Boating School, where SpongeBob's class receives an assignment for an 800-word essay on what not to do at a stoplight, due the following morning. SpongeBob cannot wait to get started and, upon arriving home, prepares his materials and workspace. However, he has trouble thinking of what to write, and gets distracted by seeing his friends playing outside.

Time passes as SpongeBob tries to create the right mood for writing. He does some calisthenics, feeds Gary, cleans his kitchen, and takes copious breaks in between. It eventually becomes clear that SpongeBob is only looking for excuses to avoid the essay. Even Patrick points it out when SpongeBob calls to chat with him in the middle of the night.

Procrastination 163

"Time's up, SpongeBob..."

While wasting more time deciding on the proper bread to use for making himself a sandwich, SpongeBob hears a knock at the door and rushes to greet the mailman delivering a package. When SpongeBob attempts to engage in small talk, the mailman cuts him off and suggests that SpongeBob has an essay to write. Suspicious, SpongeBob slowly heads back inside to find a newscaster on TV reporting on SpongeBob's unfinished essay. He soon discovers that many of his possessions, now suddenly alive, are conspiring against him to prevent the completion of his work. Their interference results in the immolation of his house which, also suddenly alive, begs SpongeBob as it burns to, "Stop wasting time."

Finally waking up and realizing much of his procrastination was part of a nightmare, SpongeBob looks first at his woefully incomplete essay, then at the clock, marking five minutes before class time. In desperation, he suddenly realizes that everything he did (or imagined doing) up to that point was something that should not be done at a stoplight, and so he quickly writes it all down to fulfill the 800-word requirement.

Excitedly bringing the finished essay to school, SpongeBob finds the classroom empty. Mrs. Puff arrives and explains that she tried to call SpongeBob to give him an update. Due to a teachers' convention, she must attend, Mrs. Puff has canceled the assignment and will instead take the class on a field trip the following week to see a stoplight. Left behind with his grin frozen in place (when he realized that he crammed in vain to complete his assignment). Before the episode ends, SpongeBob then rips his essay in half before he splits himself in half.

Production[]

Deleted scenes[]

Vlcsnap-2021-04-10-22h36m42s606

Come on, SpongeBob!

Vlcsnap-2021-04-10-22h37m38s638

I'll be one step closer to my driver's license!

  • The following scenes were removed by Nickelodeon in Mid-2005 and have not been shown on the network ever since. Pluto TV airings of this episode doesn't have the deleted scenes as well. However, after years of airing the cut version, Nicktoons began airing the episode with the cut scenes restored on October 3, 2019.[4][5]
    • A scene where SpongeBob looks out the window and sees all his friends enjoying themselves, including Patrick rubbing Sandy's shoulders with sun lotion while saying, "Come on, SpongeBob!", but then he leaves and goes back to the table. This scene was most likely removed because it looked like Patrick was unhooking Sandy's bikini.
    • A scene where SpongeBob imagines one day having his license, followed by archival footage of a drag race car crashing into a wall. This was removed most likely because Nickelodeon considered the scene to be violent, fearing that a young viewer might try to imitate the crash.
    • A scene where SpongeBob practices calisthenics was removed because the up-and-down motion of SpongeBob's nose could be viewed as obscene.

All home media releases which include this episode as well as Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Nicktoons, and all international broadcasts retain the cut scenes. The scenes were left intact for the Nickelodeon broadcasts from 2001 to 2005.

Early Nickelodeon airings before May 17, 2005 (along with current Nicktoons reruns, etc.):
SpongeBob: Gee, this is harder than I thought...
He gets up from his seat, heads toward the window and sees all his friends outside. Patrick is applying sun lotion to Sandy's soldiers while facing SpongeBob's window.
Patrick: Come on, SpongeBob!
SpongeBob goes back to his desk.
Vlcsnap-2021-04-10-22h37m07s730

How about some calisthenics?

SpongeBob: It should be against the law to have to write an essay on such a super sailorific, sunshiny day! Oh! But I must press onward, because with this pencil, and the completion of this essay, I'll be one step closer to my driver's license!
Live-action archival footage of a drag race is shown. A car hits a wall, tumbles and gets back up.
SpongeBob: Oh, yeah. This'll be no problemo. Why, I've got plenty of time. It's only 6:00 PM! Okay, okay here we go, here we go.
SpongeBob struggles to write.
SpongeBob: I know, I just need to get blood pumpin' in the old noodle. How about some calisthenics?
SpongeBob does calisthenics. While doing it, he recites, "Hup Hoo," several times. His nose and eyelashes separately move in sequence while making the same breathing sounds in different tones.
SpongeBob: I can feel those juices pumpin' now!
Nickelodeon reruns since May 17, 2005 (and former Nicktoons reruns until October 2019):
Vlcsnap-2021-04-10-22h35m26s078

I can feel those juices pumpin' now!

SpongeBob: Gee, this is harder than I thought...
The camera immediately cuts to him sitting happily in his chair.
SpongeBob: I can feel those juices pumpin' now!
The rest of the episode resumes normally from here.

Production[]

Art[]

Model sheets[]

Music[]

Note: Tracks in red only appear in the unedited version.

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Hello Blues - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
  Horlepiep - Jan Rap [Opening]
  On The Beach - Kapono Beamer ["I'm about to write the greatest essay of all time."]
  Music, Calliope - [20th Century Fox Sound Effects] [Carnival]
  Glory Road - Sam Fonteyn ["But I must press onward, because with this pencil and the completion of this essay..."]
  Glissando (G) - Skaila Kanga, Richard Myhill ["...I'll be one step closer to my driver's license!"]
  Glissando (H) - Skaila Kanga, Richard Myhill ["Oh, yeah..."]
  Tension SNR Roll - Nicolas Carr [Drum roll]
  Tense Tymp Roll - Nicolas Carr [Drum roll]
  Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr ["I know!"]
  Steve's March - Sam Spence ["I can feel those juices pumping now!"]
  Mambo Fantastico - Gerhard Narholz [Squeaking chair]
  Sunny Samoa - George de Fretes, Jan Rap [Feeding Gary]
  Four & Three - Harold Geller [SpongeBob cleaning his kitchen.]
  Dramatic Cue (H) - Ronald Hanmer ["10:00?!"]
  Dance of the Fumblers - Sam Spence [montage of SpongeBob writing]
  Tympup A - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy ["The..."]
  Raspberry C - Sammy Burdson, John Fiddy ["The..."]
  Stepping into Danger - Mike Sunderland ["Let's see, only 799 words to go."]
  Chief Taravana - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob calls Patrick]
  Stepping into Danger - Mike Sunderland [SpongeBob choking]
  Hello Blues - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob looks in the refrigerator / mail man comes to the door]
  Dramatic Cue (E) - Ronald Hanmer ["How did he know I'm supposed to be writing an essay?"]
  Strange Goings-On - Dick Stephen Walter [SpongeBob goes back into his house]
  The Plot Thickens - Dick Stephen Walter [News on TV]
  Vibe & Harp Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Hey, SpongeBob, over here!"]
  Terror by Night - Hubert Clifford [SpongeBob running back to his desk/"Ah! My pants!"]
  Flight in Panic 1 - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob's house on fire]
  Unpreventable - Gregor F. Narholz ["It's almost 9:00!"]
  Thats It ! - Nicolas Carr ["Feeding your snail is something not to do at a stoplight!"]
  Horlepiep - Jan Rap ["Mrs. Puff, I'm finished!"]
  Keel Row - Brian Peters [Ending]

Release[]

Reception[]

  • "Procrastination" was ranked #100 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.

Trivia[]

General[]

  • This is one of three episodes with a deleted scene later cut from future airings. The others are "Just One Bite" from season 3 and "SpongeBob in RandomLand" from season 12.
    • However, the cuts to "Just One Bite" remain in all countries except for Canada and Korea.[citation needed]
  • When SpongeBob cleans his kitchen, it turns chrome, similar to how the future world looks in the episode "SB-129."
SpongeBob in TED

SpongeBob clip in Ted (2012 film).

  • The scene from this episode where SpongeBob says, "Do I dare look at the clock?" is shown at the beginning of the 2012 Seth MacFarlane R-rated comedy film Ted, fittingly as John is procrastinating going to work.
  • This is the last episode to have Doug Lawrence credited as a writer until the season 7 episode, "I ♥ Dancing."
  • This is the first episode for a few things:
    • The first episode where "Terror by Night" and "Keel Row" play.
    • The first episode where Sandy wears her bikini and air helmet without the rest of her diving gear outside the treedome. The second was "Karate Island."
    • The first appearance of the snail clock in airing order. However, the clock's first produced and packaged appearance is "Gary Takes a Bath."
  • This is the only season 2 episode to use the track "Hello Blues."
    • It is also the only episode to date to use that track in a title card.
  • Screenshots from the scene where Incidental 41 mocks SpongeBob by saying "Did you hear that?! 800 words!" and SpongeBob replies, "Yeah, I know!" have become popular on the Internet.
  • SpongeBob's line "Yeah, I know!" is reused from "Dying for Pie."
  • SpongeBob writes down all the things he did during his procrastination dream as part of his essay on things not to do at a stoplight, which are as follows:
    • Feeding Gary
    • Talking to friends
    • Drinking water
    • Making a sandwich [never completed, decision on bread interrupted by doorbell]
    • Calling his friends [Patrick]
    • "Shooting breeze" with the mailman
    • Lighting candles
    • Karate-chopping the TV
    • Falling asleep
  • In most episodes, SpongeBob has a shellphone in his house. In this one, however, his phone is shaped like a rotary phone.
    • This could be a foreshadowing that it's SpongeBob's dream.
  • Patrick and the mailman reminding SpongeBob about his essay foreshadows his procrastination being a dream.
    • How much of the episode is in fact SpongeBob's dream is unclear. It is conceivable he might have discussed the essay assignment with Patrick offscreen (leading Patrick to remind him), and even that he nearly choked on eraser shavings, but the suggestion from the mailman (who is a stranger) that SpongeBob has an essay to write immediately precedes scenes clearly within the dream, such as the newscaster reporting on SpongeBob and various objects coming to life to conspire against him.
    • SpongeBob's dream might have started before doing calisthenics, because during the scene where he struggles before such, he falls down in the same exact position when he wakes up from his nightmare near the end.
  • This is the second episode where a character imagines a building setting on fire. The first was "Squid's Day Off" when Squidward imagines the Krusty Krab being set on fire due to SpongeBob falling asleep at the cash register.
  • On the Official SpongeBob SquarePants account on Facebook and Twitter, it says that in 2003, SpongeBob began to write the essay, but the episode aired in 2001.[6]
548EA73D-A785-448B-8AD5-5BFC98C8DE4E
Inappropriate spongebob
  • The close-up of SpongeBob smiling and laughing from moving his chair back and forth was used for Nickelodeon's "Up next" banners from 2010 to 2012.
    • It popped up during the premiere of "And the Winner Is...," the sixth episode of The Legend of Korra on May 12, 2012. Specifically during a scene in which the protagonist was in a life-threatening fall, this banner showed up.[7]
    • Since then, the banner has become an internet meme. The format of the meme would show the banner overlaid on a screenshot of an emotional scene of a TV series or movie, to mock poorly timed cross-promo ads during broadcasting. SpongeBob's expression combined with the drama of the scene would often make viewers joke about SpongeBob being mean.
    • It was also used from the Gimme 5 & Purple & Brown & Yellow Marathon events.
  • For unknown reasons, this episode and its sister episode were rated 13+ on Amazon Prime Video in August 2020. [citation needed]
    • This has since been corrected as of October 2020, and the episode is back to being rated its original TV-Y7 rating on Amazon Prime Video, like most other episodes.
  • This episode was paired with different episodes in different airings:
  • The sound effect of SpongeBob's chair squeaking is actually of an old typewriter.[citation needed]


Cultural references[]

  • In SpongeBob's nightmare when he runs through a hall, and on the episode's title card background, there are deformed, melted, and melting clocks. This is a reference to The Persistence of Memory, a painting by Salvador Dalí.
  • In one scene, SpongeBob says "Hey, hey, hey" to Gary. This is a reference to the 1972 cartoon, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.
  • A can in SpongeBob's refrigerator reads "Horse of the sea" referencing the seafood brand Chicken of the Sea.

Errors[]

Vlcsnap-2021-04-10-22h34m58s541

A washed out and less saturated title card.

  • From May 17, 2005 to October 2019, the edited version of this episode (as aired on Nickelodeon, Nick@Nite, TeenNick, and Nicktoons) appeared to be washed out and less saturated.
    • The desaturation and loss of color does not become an error with three scenes being removed, though this remains unconfirmed. This also occurred to its sister episode, since they are originally paired together.
  • On Amazon Prime Video, the entire episode is slightly darker in color. The same error occurs with its sister episode, "I'm with Stupid."
Erik Weise and Carson kugler error in Procrastination

Two errors in one: The "K" in Carson Kugler's name is lowercased, and Erik Wiese's surname is misspelled as "Weise."

  • In the opening credits:
    • The 'K' in Carson Kugler's surname is lowercase instead of capitalized.
    • Erik Wiese has the "I" and the first "E" in his surname swapped, making it become misspelled as "Weise."
  • For the most part, SpongeBob's source of light is an electric lamp with a coconut as a base, sitting on his desk. However, when SpongeBob is locked out of his house, the lamp is replaced with a candle.
  • After SpongeBob says "And now pencil, get ready to do your stuff because here we go!," the clock shows 5 to 4. Some seconds later, the same clock shows 5 to 3.
Procrastination 029

It says spotlight instead of stoplight.

  • On his essay, SpongeBob misspells "stoplight" as "spotlight."
  • When SpongeBob says "This is harder than I thought," he is sitting at the desk. He is suddenly standing and gets back in his seat in the next shot.
    • This was fixed when the deleted scene made a comeback.
  • If one were to look closely on DVD prints of this episode, when the glissando ripple effect comes in as the race car footage goes back to SpongeBob, his color appears as a normal shade of yellow, but shortly before it goes back to normal, it goes back to the washed out yellow color on the episode's DVD print.
  • In the Latin American Spanish version, SpongeBob:
    • Only says, "Hup-hoo," one time instead of three; his nose and eyelashes are silent during the exercise.[citation needed]
    • Can be unheard gulping the water.[citation needed]
    • Does not say, "Burning!" instead his Spanish voice actor appears to be saying, "¡Oy!"[citation needed]
  • When SpongeBob's nose and eyelashes are exercising, his right arm is missing.
  • When SpongeBob is moving back and forth on his chair while writing his essay, there is no pencil on the desk, but when he goes back to work on the essay, there is.
Polish 20200228 215000896

Rough Draft Korea on the screen for about a frame.

  • While SpongeBob is cleaning in the kitchen, right before the scene changes to the next in a bubble transition, there is a Rough Draft Korea screen that says "4:12" which was made sometime in 2001.
Procrastination image

Miscolored belt.

  • When SpongeBob is at the sink, drinking water:
    • Two parts of his black belt turn yellow for a split second.
    • There are visible green drops.
SpongeBob's eyelashes error in Procrastination

SpongeBob's missing eyelashes.

  • When SpongeBob says, "Rye or pumpernickel," his eyelashes are missing.
ProcrastinationAnimationError

SpongeBob's mouth is missing.

  • Before SpongeBob is locked out of his house, his mouth disappears for a split second as the door slams shut.
  • The pencil is on SpongeBob's desk when the candle is still lighting right before he looks at the window, but disappears a second before the fire imp jumps out of the desk.
  • When SpongeBob says, "Burning," his mouth syncs incorrectly.
  • The essay paper is burned by the fire imp; despite this, the paper is still on the desk when the fire imp jumps off the desk.
  • As mentioned above, the entire scene of SpongeBob's house catching on fire and various objects coming to life was revealed to all just be a dream, however SpongeBob is never shown falling asleep prior to this, making it seem like an actual part of the episode, or the entire episode all being a dream until SpongeBob wakes up and finally writes his essay.
  • When SpongeBob is awaken from his nightmare and looks at the paper before looking at the clock, only the word "the" is shown, and "What Not to do at a Spotlight by SpongeBob SquarePants" is missing from the top.


Videos[]

SpongeBob_Writes_an_Essay_📝_"Procrastination"_in_5_Minutes!

SpongeBob Writes an Essay 📝 "Procrastination" in 5 Minutes!

SpongeBob_Procrastinating_for_22_Minutes_⏰_-_SpongeBob

SpongeBob Procrastinating for 22 Minutes ⏰ - SpongeBob

References[]

Wikipedia logo This page uses content from Wikipedia (originalauthors). Both Encyclopedia SpongeBobia and Wikipedia are licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license.


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